Coil Spring Snapped

[lordrobs]

They don't fail due to use only, they fail due to corrosion causing a stress raiser which eventually opens up a crack due to fatigue cycles.

I'd replace both just for piece of mind, any rust issue is likely to affect both sides

I agree with this completely.

There is no issue with replacing a single spring from a handling point of view. Shock absorbers definitely but not springs.

Only reason to do both is that if one failed after x years due to rust penetration then it is a possibility that the other will follow suit in the not too distant future.

 

[Mickey]

I'd have both replaced too! We used to have a Fiesta which had one of the front springs go, when having it replaced I asked about having the other side done too and got told not to bother... 2 months later the other side snapped and put a hole in the tyre that time, so we had to pay for recovery (again), 2 new tyres and the original spring replacement cost on top.

 

[OspreyO]

Good to see cars are built down to a price, not up to a quality these days. Snapped springs used to be rare, now it's normal

Our Astra broke a coil also.

Is it common for other makes these days? I'd have thought it was still pretty rare.

Its true there's never been as many speed bumps before though.

 

[Clarkey]

I agree with this completely.

There is no issue with replacing a single spring from a handling point of view. Shock absorbers definitely but not springs.

Only reason to do both is that if one failed after x years due to rust penetration then it is a possibility that the other will follow suit in the not too distant future.

Not to sure about that, coil springs often sag over time. Replace one and you then have uneven ride heights across the axle and affected corner weights. Perhaps with your every day cars very soft springs you wouldn't notice it but on hard springs you would, usually as an instability under braking.

 

[lemonade]

Our Astra broke a coil also.

Is it common for other makes these days? I'd have thought it was still pretty rare.

Its true there's never been as many speed bumps before though.

I seem to come across broken spring issues a lot on Ford and Vauxhall's, which doesn't surprise me.

Not sure if its a new vs old car thing, but i've never had any old cars have snapped springs, my daily car is 16 years old and still running sweet on the original springs aswell as every other suspension part, granted I don't do much miles, but she gets ragged everytime and we have speed humps and potholes galore here, i've jumped over one at 30 once and drove over an open drain with missing manhole cover too and it took the abuse.

So perhaps the theory of new cars having lighter/thinner metals is true.

 

[OspreyO]

Me too. I've a 16yr supermini, which I use as a spare car. I'm not gentle with it over speed bumps. But its so light and the suspension soft, it doesn't thump them anything like as hard as our other cars.

 

[pugheaven]

Its a known fact that newer springs simply are not made to the same quality as 15-20 years ago. Then again look at cars in general were at a point again that cars in the last 10-12 years are rusting again... It's a throwaway society now and profit margins are narrow thus things aren't built to last.

For me I'd never ever replace one spring I'd always do the pair. That also goes for things like bearings, ball joints etc, I tend to get booth side done of one goes through wear.

 

[red eye]

Replace both sides at the same time. If one has gone there's a chance the other isn't far behind it. Both rear's on my Astra G snapped at the same time. You can pick new springs up on ebay for £15-35. It's a really easy job to replace them and you don't even need a spring compressor. Jack the rear up and remove the wheel. Stick a jack under the rear axle and just take the weight. Undo the lower shock absorber bolt and lower the jack holding the rear axle up. The spring can then be replaced, the axle jacked back up and the shock refitted. Repeat for the other side. The whole job can be done in less than a hour.

If you use axle stands,which you should be you can Jack the middle of the beam and do both springs at the same time

 

[Dogbreath]

The springs share an even load (except when cornering ofc) and will wear out at roughly the same rate, if one has worn out and snapped then the other one that has shared an even load will be heading the same way. Is it not better to get them both done at the same time instead of just waiting for the other to go (which it may do in a dangerous situation).

Springs don't "wear out". They can develop stress cracks due to either corrosion or manufacturing defects which ultimately leads to failure, but this is not a "wear" mechanism" and there is no way you can predict that they will all succumb to this failure in a similar time frame.

They can also sag with age, though again it's not a wear mechanism as such.

FWIW I would personally change both because springs are cheap and I wouldn't be paying for labour, but many people wouldn't and it's not the end of the world.